This article considers the production deficits, logistics turmoil and demand surges that contributed to supply-chain disruptions that were brought into focus with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gerdau Special Steel North America announced an additional $40.4 million capital investment at its Monroe, Mich., special bar quality (SBQ) mill. This final phase of the project will include upgrades to the rolling mill, including a new bundler table, bundler area and the installation of a third saw. Including these rolling-mill upgrades, Gerdau has invested nearly $400 million over the past decade to transform the Monroe mill into a world-class SBQ production facility. This phased investment plan has involved several projects, including installation of a new continuous caster; a new twin-tank vacuum degasser; a new walking-beam reheat furnace; a new electric-arc furnace (EAF) transformer; EAF control and mechanical upgrades; and a new twin-ladle furnace and material-handling system.
If your furnace is a bottleneck in your operation, it may be time to consider adding a new one. This article reviews the basics of furnace structure and style, refractory selection and combustion design. It concludes with a recent case study.
General Motors Co. (GM) will invest $760 million at its Toledo, Ohio, propulsion manufacturing operations to prepare the facility for production of drive units that will be used in future Ultium-based battery electric trucks, including the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV and GMC Hummer EVs. Toledo Propulsion Systems will be GM’s first U.S. powertrain or propulsion-related manufacturing facility transformed for EV-related production. Once the plant is converted, it will produce GM’s family of EV drive units, which convert electric power from the battery pack to mechanical motion at the wheels. GM’s EV drive units will cover front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive propulsion combinations.
Nucor Corp. will invest $200 million over a five-year period in mill modernization projects at its Nucor Steel Berkeley division located in Huger, S.C. A portion of the capital investment will include the construction of a new air-separation unit (ASU) for the purpose of supplying industrial gases for the mill’s steelmaking operations. When complete, the ASU will be operated by UIG LLC, a Nucor wholly owned subsidiary that specializes in industrial gas supply. This project will allow Nucor, through UIG, to produce and supply all the gases needed for the steel mill from the new Nucor-owned facility. Nucor Steel Berkeley is currently supplied with industrial gases under a long-term supply agreement.
Rio Tinto is investing $29 million to build a new aluminum recycling facility at its Arvida Plant in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, to expand its offering of low-carbon aluminum solutions for customers in the automotive, packaging and construction markets. According to Rio Tinto, the facility will make the company the first primary aluminum producer in North America to incorporate recycled post-consumer aluminum into aluminum alloys. The recycling center is expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2024 and will have an initial capacity of 30,000 tons per year. A remelting furnace equipped with regenerative burners and an automated scrap loading system will be installed in an existing building at the Arvida Plant.
Siderforgerossi Group S.p.A., a global manufacturer of forged products and a portfolio company of KPS Capital Partners, completed the acquisition of Grupo Euskal Forging S.L. and its subsidiaries. Euskal Forging is a manufacturer of forgings and seamless rolled rings, including rings greater than 8 meters in diameter, serving the wind power and mining industries. Headquartered in Irura, Spain, the company operates three manufacturing facilities and has approximately 170 employees. Veneto, Italy-headquartered Siderforgerossi is a vertically integrated manufacturer of rolled and forged products with capabilities across the manufacturing spectrum, including open-die and closed-die forging.
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